BioEdge recently came across this good news story from last March in which researchers at University College in London gave a new trachea to a 10-year-old boy using his own stem cells. The operation was a world first but another in a long chain of remarkable successes using adult stem cells.It's quite a different story from what's happening with embryonic stem cell research in which there's a lot of hype, an awful lot of time and money -- but zip when it comes to practical applications.
The boy was born with Long Segment Tracheal Stenosis – a rare condition where the windpipe does not grow and restricts breathing. A short time after birth, he was given a conventional trachea transplant but his condition deteriorated. A metal stint was implanted which eroded his aorta and caused severe bleeding.
Thus the new treatment. Cells were stripped from a donated trachea. These were used to replace the whole airway, and the child’s bone marrow cells were used to seal the airway in the body.
